Venezuela Passes Mining Law to Attract U.S. Investment

The National Assembly of Venezuela preliminarily approved a new mining law between March 10 and 11, 2026, designed to attract foreign investment by repealing state-control decrees from 1999 and 2015. The legislation allows private corporations and joint ventures to obtain concessions for 20 to 30 years to exploit gold, diamonds, and rare earths. To provide investor confidence, the law introduces international arbitration for dispute resolution and discretionary tax breaks managed by the Ministry of Ecological Mining Development.

Delcy Rodríguez, acting as president following the January capture of Nicolas Maduro, pushed for the reforms as part of a broader U.S.-backed economic overhaul. In coordination, the U.S. Department of the Treasury issued General License 51, authorizing transactions with the state-owned miner Minerven while requiring proceeds to be held in U.S. government-run accounts. The U.S. also granted a 30-day license for companies like Canada's Gold Reserve to negotiate concessions.

U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited Venezuela to facilitate the transition, noting the arrival of an initial $100 million gold shipment in the United States. The reforms target the Orinoco Mining Arc, which contains an estimated $500 billion in resources. However, human rights and environmental groups warn that the region remains largely controlled by criminal organizations and guerrillas, including the ELN and Tren de Aragua, risking the laundering of criminal wealth and widespread ecocide.